According to FAO, they can contribute significantly to address hunger, food security, malnutrition, environmental challenges and human health and already in 2016 the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations established that they should be celebrated with a world day that would attest to its universal nutritional importance with a slogan that perfectly summarized their value: "Nutritious seeds for a sustainable future". Legumes, beans, peas, broad beans, lupins, grass peas, chickpeas, peanuts and lentils are a family of 12 thousand species that do not only perform their indispensable nutritional function for the human community. In addition to being good and nutritious, legumes are also essential for the well-being of the soil, because they release nitrogen to the soil and therefore reconstitute fertile humus instead of impoverishing it. For this reason, in many cultures they are grown in association with other plants (as in the Mexican milpa, where they are sown next to pumpkins, corn and chili peppers) or even used in cycles to reconstitute the nutrients of over-exploited soils. While in our country they enrich agricultural land in rotation.
Carlo Petrini, already ten years ago, underlined in an article that In Western countries, too much meat is consumed (125 kilos per person per year in the USA, 90 in Europe) and this creates major environmental and social justice problems. A significant portion of cereals (often genetically modified) is used to feed animals that live in extremely restricted environments, subjected to very high physical stress and therefore “treated” with massive doses of antibiotics. Not to mention that to produce a kilogram of beef, approximately 15 thousand liters of water are needed. All this in the presence of areas of the planet where hunger and malnutrition still affect almost 800 million people. Can we think – Petrini underlined – that the entire world will align itself with our meat consumption in the future? The answer is no, because an entire planet would not be enough to feed all the animals that would be needed. And so a path of contraction and convergence is necessary: we must decrease our meat consumption – he underlined – allowing the populations of other continents to increase it (today in Africa the annual per capita meat consumption does not reach 10 kg). We cannot ignore these aspects when we talk about alternative sources of protein, especially when these are good, available at low cost, accessible, and have incredibly adapted to practically all types of climates inhabited by man like legumes.
A legume recipe book to discover legume-based dishes from all the Italian regions
On the occasion of World Pulses Day, which falls on February 10, under the motto Pulses: Bringing diversity to agrifood systems, the theme chosen by FAO for 2025, Slow Food Italy celebrates legumes, their biodiversity and extraordinary versatility in the kitchen with the fourth edition of the Add a Legume to the Table campaign! Versatile, healthy and sustainable: from 7 to 16 February, legumes are once again the protagonists of the menus of the chefs of the Slow Food Alliance who for the occasion present the “legume recipe book” to replicate at home.
For ten days, from 7 to 16 February, over 100 chefs from the Slow Food Alliance from all over Italy invite you to discover legume-based dishes in their restaurants, but also to replicate them at home thanks to al Legume recipe book, a collection of 20 Plant-Based Recipes from Every Region. Appetizers, first courses, soups, burgers and even desserts, from traditional dishes to more creative proposals, the Add a legume to the table recipe book is the ideal tool for exploring plant-based cuisine directly from the chefs on the web, and for learning more about the thousand uses of legumes and their biodiversity thanks to the dedicated insights.
Over 100 chefs from the Slow Food Alliance from all over Italy will offer appetizers, first courses, soups, burgers and even legume-based desserts
It is established that chickpeas, grass peas, lentils, beans, peas and the like are true allies of the planet, thanks to their ability to fix nitrogen and contribute to the fertility and biodiversity of the soil, making the latter more resilient and thus reducing the use of synthetic fertilizers, while also reducing water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, Legumes also have a strong importance in economic and social terms.
As highlighted by the FAO, legumes provide employment and livelihoods to people around the world, particularly women and youth living in rural areas. In this sense, legumes contribute to gender equity, which in turn is essential for the sustainability of agri-food systems.
And then from the field we move to the table: rich in proteins, fibers and complex carbohydrates, legumes are a fundamental ingredient for our well-being. Increasing their consumption can bring numerous health benefits, among other things economically accessible to everyone.
The nutritional and nutraceutical properties of legumes: a mine of benefits for health, the heart, diabetes, cholesterol
Legumes are a real nutritional panacea. In addition to being rich in protein, they contain fiber, minerals such as iron and magnesium, and B vitamins. They help maintain stable blood sugar levels and promote heart health due to their low fat content. Consuming them regularly can have beneficial effects on digestion and can help prevent some chronic diseases.
In particular, from a nutritional point of view, legumes are an excellent source of vegetable proteins, containing more proteins than cereals and animal meats. Rich in dietary fiber, they help improve digestion and maintain the feeling of satiety, but also rich in vitamins and minerals, containing B vitamins, iron, magnesium, calcium, potassium and vitamin C, they are low in fat, with the exception of soy and peanuts, which contain healthy fats such as omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.
From a nutraceutical point of view, thanks to their high fibre content and low caloric density, legumes can help in weight management, help to reduce cholesterol levels and improve cardiovascular health and due to their low glycemic index, they help maintain stable blood sugar levels. Last but not least, they perform a excellent function in the prevention of chronic diseases, their regular consumption can contribute to the prevention of diseases such as diabetes, obesity and some forms of cancer.
From North to South Italy, the chefs of the Slow Food Alliance reiterate, once again, the importance of building strong relationships with the network of small-scale producers who cultivate with respect for the soil and the environment. Thanks to their work, species that were at risk of disappearing forever are surviving today, such as the over 40 Slow Food Presidia of legumes, seeds that are the identity of their territories, reflecting their characteristics and culture, and often the protagonists of traditional recipes whose origins are lost in time.
«For the Alliance's chefs, World Pulse Day represents an opportunity to engage and attract the public around one of their important peculiarities: bringing biodiversity to the plate. Doing this means not only contributing to broadening the horizons of taste and rediscovering flavors that would otherwise risk oblivion, but above all accompanying the dishes with true and engaging stories that speak of territory, eco-systems and people who produce with passion for their land.
